1. Helping chemists find jobs in a tough market. 2. Towards a quantitative understanding of the quality of the chemistry job market.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Daily Pump Trap: 5/24/12 edition

Good morning! Between May 22 and May 23, there were 27 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 5 (19%) are academically connected and 12 (44%) are from Kelly Scientific Resources.

Tarrytown, NY: BASF would like to hire a B.S./M.S. chemist to perform elemental analyses. Experience with
instrumental methods such as XRF, GFAA, FAA, ICP-OES and physical property measurement such as surface area, zeta potential, color measurement and surface tension/contact angle are also desired. (I'm amused that "financial accountability" before any comments about lab safety. Oh, well.)

Thousand Oaks, CA: Amgen is looking for a Principal Scientist to be a subject matter expert for the selection of raw materials for pharmaceutical manufacture. 10 years of experience desired, as well as "[e]xtensive knowledge of the manufacturing processes of raw materials, their usage, regulatory/compendial requirements, practices, physical/chemical properties and compatibility with proteins, and risks associated with the raw materials for pharmaceutical and biological products is desirable, along with the ability to assess the impact of changes in materials or manufacturing processes."

I found the educational requirements quite egalitarian: "Doctorate degree & 2 years of directly related experience OR master’s degree & 6 years of directly related experience OR bachelor’s degree & 8 years of directly related experience OR associate’s degree & 10 years of directly related experience OR high school diploma / GED & 12 years of directly related experience."

Feel like fracking?: Unimin Corporation (Spruce Pine, NC) is looking for a B.S./M.S. chemist to work on the development of proppants (an additive to help with hydraulic fracturing, looks like.) Lab scale to pilot plant scale up and product development is a part of this position; "recent graduates will be considered."

Wilmington, OH: TimberTech is a company that develops wood products for decking, railing and fencing. They're looking for 2 positions, a senior analytical chemist (B.S./M.S./Ph.D., 3 years of industrial experience desired) and a formulations chemist (M.S./Ph.D., 3+ years experience.)

Smokin'!: The Kentucky Tobacco R&D Center would like to hire a Ph.D. analytical chemist with 3 years experience in analyzing tobacco products. This position is the "reference cigarette" program and will also be involved in developing tobacco products for FDA approval. Smoke chemistry experience desired.

Does this hypothetical GED holder with 12 years directly related experience even exist? How long would it take to get to a directly related position to start the timer on those 12 years. Just seems silly to include. Don't they have enough resumes as it is?